I put a couple dozen fathead minnows in my pond. One showed up dead, but otherwise, in two weeks, I see no sign of fish. I want a native type fish that will swim around in there, be visible to me, and eat mosquito larvae. When I read that fatheads are used as dither fish, I can't believe it since mine have totally disappeared. I got these fish at the bait shop, and they also had shiners, which I didn't buy because my research showed that they can get 12" long and I was afraid they'd be too much for my pond, which is about 5'x5', 18" deep and with a 4'deep area. Are these fatheads atypical in their hiding behavior? Should I get some shiners and hope they stay small? Maybe I didn't get enough minnows? I am not interested in goldfish or koi, as I like a fish that looks natural in my Michigan zone 5 setting. In the past I've had white clouds, which swam around and reproduced nicely, but didn't make it over the winter and I felt too bad about their deaths to have them again. Thanks.

Fathead minnows are very hard to see in a pond, at least mine are! The rosy red minnows which are just an orange variant of the same species are much easier to see in the pond. It's a good idea to quarantine fatheads from a bait shop (or those sold as "feeders") as they are usually in poor health.

Which species of shiner did the bait shop have? There are many kinds. Some species stay just a few inches long like red shiners. Others grow larger.

In a new pond, especially one without a lot of other animals and plant cover, fatheads will hide a lot. That's normal. Once they settle in, they will be more adventurous. My minnows zip to the top and eat their flakes like little piggies but it took them the first season to get over their fear. I think you got enough minnows (assuming no more have died). I don't suggest getting the shiners until you find out which species that they are.

As you said, white cloud mountain minnows are not able to overwinter (although I've had a few people tell me that they can). They are native to China. It is good that you want to have a native fish pond. My page on native fish is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/misc2.htm

Good luck!

Robyn, the shiners they had at the bait shop were golden shiners. My book said that they reach 12", which i thought was rather large. My search for emerald shiners (4") has been unsuccessful so far. I got the fatheads the very day they arrived at the shop so I had hoped they'd be in good condition. Only one fish has shown up dead, and my guess is that the rest are under the rocks which line the bottom of the pond. My experience with fish is that they usually float if they've expired.

The plants are now growing like mad, there will be more cover, so maybe they'll stop being so shy. Yours took a whole season to come out? I'll be patient. I know some people with a pond that have had bluegills in there for several years, and their pond isn't any bigger than mine. I have an order in with a fisherman friend (like you I don't fish, ugh, how barbaric) that if he catches any tiny bluegills, to save me a few so I can try them. What do you think of that idea?

Thanks for your help.

Yep, golden shiners can grow to a foot.

Deceased fish may float, sink, or even float mid-water. I've seen all types. It depends on how much air/gas is in them at the time I guess and how long they've been dead.

I've never tried bluegills but they are very interesting fish. While they don't grow that big compared to other such fish (16" maybe at most), they may nip at or even eat smaller fish (under 4" I'm guessing) once they grow up.